Malcolm Robinson

I agree with what you are saying especially about holding politicians to account but the wheels of power move to slowly for the solution to be put in place, They will still be debating this issue next year. Pete, I know all about those dammed wheels of power moving too slowly! And yes the ploliticians will be talking endlessly and most of the time aimlessly, why, because that seems to be their job these days! They will say they are held to account every 4 years or so but that is Bxxxxxxs! Let us not forget they are only there to REPRESENT OUR views, that being the true sense of our democratic model. Somehow that has been lost and we now find we are being told what to do and how to behave by people who you wouldn't let your dog take for a walk! Next time you see a politician on TV sidetrack or refuse to answer a specific question ask why they are on the show if they are not going to give straight answers! If I was the interviewer I would refuse them anymore airtime! My biggest fear is for my Grandchildren and what future they will have, could they be looking at a scorched Earth? That would be my concern as well! Being of a certain age, it should be encumbent on my generation to leave something better than we found for future generations, as it is my generation who are the power brokers at present!

Malcolm Have we got a true Green party? Surly if we went 100% green we would have to get rid of all the cars, buses, trains and anything else that spews out carbon including industry. We would have to go back hundreds of years to the days we hunted rabbits and lived off the land (not a bad thought by the way or maybe not we would probably have to pay tax with carrots and rabbit skins). Pete, I do not really know the answer to that one but if we look at things sensibley, Nature is a carbon user so that must mean there is an equalibrium we can arrive at. The problem seems to be the way we have over developed "dirty" industry so we produce more than Nature can accomodate. With only the bottom line to think about business has ignored this effect in the persuit of profits, and to give consumers what they demand, lets not forget! I have no doubt business can clean up its act as long as consumers will take the hit for the extra costings. Some look as if they are already doing that but China and India have a lot of catching up to do before they take on board this type of business model, can we really blame them and do we have the right to pontificate? I know this is a serious issue that has been debated for many years now but nothing seems to happen, no government to date has really done anything about this issue, it’s been talk, talk and more talk with no results. That is why it is so important to hold politicians to account! How serious do other countries take this issue, I have watched three different news channels this morning, two of these channels played heavily on this issue the third didn’t even mention this issue at all needless to say it was an American news channel, if there not interested can GB do it alone? Of course we cannot, GB's pollution is a drop in the ocean compared to others ( I wonder if Maggie was a closet Green and that was why she decimated manufacturing in the UK!) but we do seem to be pretty good at inventing solutions. As a mature economy he have a requirement to try and redress the polution we have caused in its development even if it is just to show others it can be done and show developing economies how it can be done!

Threegee, Who has a grip on the "underlying science" because for everyone (read scientist) who says lifestyles are to blame another says they are not to blame? You know how the system works, leak a few scare stories, get some junior minister to brief on how urgent the Gov are considering draconian action and watch for a public outcry. If there is one drop whatever like a hot potato if not bring in some watered down version so as not to put off too many people when the results start to bite. Quoting anything for long enough will make lots of people belive it, they read it in the press or see it on TV so it must be true! Using monetary fixes for this type of problem only results in the tax coffers bulging as the rich pay a few extra coppers whilst the poorest sections of society pay huge disproportionate rises for some thing which they need to survive in a contemporary setting. Without massive changes to lifestyles green taxes should be seen as yet another stealth tax! If nuclear is the answer why is the Gov privatising the industry? If they think it is the answer do they just want to offload the costs or if they do not think it do they just want to offload a problem? Can we expect some adverse UN resolutions if we start building reactors? (And I would be watching Duridge Bay closley!)

Of course it does, everytime a problem is met with a blanket tax the very people who should be making changes don't, it is only the less affluent ones who have to consider their positions carefully. Yes the well off pay more but it doesn't really hit home for them. If someone spends 40-50 grand on a new 4x4 what difference will a few extra quid make on road tax to them when all they are concerned about is having the latest fashion trend. All three major political parties are now scrambling to show off their Green credentials showing how earnest they are on this subject, one thing strikes me, if they are that convinced why don't they just join the Green party?

MD, If you remember there was an attempt not so long ago to sort this out, regarding civil servants pay, conditons, pensions etc, if I remember correctly Mr Brown backed off? He did say widespread cuts were needed in the civil service and even put a figure on the jobs needing cutting, the result, a short series of strikes, and I belive even WDC staff were on strike for a day or two, and then............nothing? Up to 50% of rates has been mentioned as going towards Civil servants and their packages and that is the figure for now. As you say final sarley schemes are almost not available in the private sector the reason quoted for the civil servants to get them, they are paid proportinatly lower saleries than they could expect in the private sector so pensions are a viable way of attracting the right people! Personally I might have a different take on that one!

Pete, Just read some of your link and it seems it is more about the way councils are funded and what it means to ratepayers. The main reason more and more money needs to be raised year on year is because it pays for civil servant pensions and they only go one way! That is the pensions of the guys and women working for the likes of WDC is met, predominentily, by the local ratepayers! Now that looks like a huge black hole to me and one which will need more and more to plug the gaps in the years to come. That should be one change everyone shouts about as it could half or even quarter rate demands! Yes the money has to come from somewhere but hiding it behind a house tax which most people think pays for local services.......

If it was invested in the "right things" the "payoffs" and "interest" could last for many years, However transient politicians need quick results to keep them in office so I would expect some superficail development which might look good in the short term but misses long term potential. You also fall into the trap of HAVING to spent the money within certain dates or loose it!

I agree Joe but "shy bairns get nowt", far better to ask and get turned down than say nothing and get no consideration. Your view might half way explain why the Bedlington councillors have always been sooooo silent! "But there's good news the Goverment anounced yesterday thet their giving more power to local councils and you will be able to hold your councilors to account, they even mentioned more Mayor" Accountability in local gov, now there's a novel idea! Bedlington could have had it's own Mayor many years ago, all that was needed was for a Town council and a very small percentage of the local people could have willed it. That is notwithstanding the little fact that two Authorites in the country effectivley banned Parish/Town councils. One was North Tyneside the other.......begings with W, ends in K!

I understand where you are coming from Threegee but the fact remains the only way to change things is to embrace the system and change from within. Who is going to make the decisions about how this million quid will be spent on the town and who will make sure the right development goes into the "Gap Site"? If there was a bit more input there might not be so many negative comments on this board regarding the town and its appearance.

Any pundits with forecasts on next Thursday's results? Also might WDC agree to take Milibands radioactive waste? The inward investment looks tailor made for Wansbeck but I wonder where it would go!!!!!!!!!!

Had I been back there my first port of call would have been the nearest boozer where the alcoholic strength of the draught beers would ahve doubled!

" Wish I could remember the exact word." Ah, ha, the word used was "deprovation". Bedlington Station was classed as an area of "deprovation" and as such attraced grant funding for various schemes. I was quite pleased not to be living in an area which had been classed in that way but it did mean we couldn't get a penny! If anyone disputes that as a governmental adjective "awarded" to the Station I think it was the Single Regeneration Budget number 1 which did the classifications. I knew a few depraved souls who lived down there and so may well have been deprived.........

Ok Ck! Your post isnt too far removed from fact! The Station shared in a regeneration grant of over a million squid not too long ago and I tried to get Bedlington as a whole into that pot. Not possible came the reply. Why, the Top End of the town is too well off?????????? The powers that be actually said the rest of the town isnt "needy" as much as the Station! Wish I could remember the exact word. As for those "Nuclear Free Zone" signs I suppose you could always rip one off and put it on your head to protect in the event of an intercontinental ballistic missile strike! I felt safer anyway. Leisure centre, one was supposed to go into the Gap Site, when that fell through because of the collapse of the Hartford Hall development, a super dooper surgury was supposed to be built which would have closed all of the outlying doctor surguries at Guide post, and the Station areas. That fell through and all the while a group were trying to get that Gap Site for............ a small shopping arcade.

That is exactly what is needed, fill those empty shops so the area at least looks “affluent and prosperous”. That in itself would be the biggest thing which will attract new businesses into the area. Many times I heard people asking for WDC to fill the empty shops but that is not in their remit that is the job of the private sector. However the council could and should do everything in its power to provide an environment where business will want to come. For that reason everything which upgrades Front Street should be welcomed and seen as a step in the right direction. I do not necessarily agree with the new street furniture package but I whole heartedly support the intent behind it and anything is better than nothing. Rates is obviously a big concern you just have to look at all the charity shops which occupy prime retail space and pay only a fraction of the charges normal shops would have to cough up. It is a complicated question none the less; you only have to consider domestic rates where almost half of the money goes to pay civil servant pensions, something which is set to increase year on year and is the biggest reason your rates bills go up every year and the level of services you receive goes in the opposite direction!!!! Business rates make up half the money councils get back from central Gov to run themselves, the rest is a mix of income tax and domestic rates, and one of the factors which goes into this calculation is the number of houses in a district: wonder if that was a reason WDC have always been so keen for new housing? Listening to councillors saying they wished there were no businesses in their area as they got nothing from them, business rates go straight to central gov, just proved how little they understood the system they were part of! The fact remains business rates are an overhead none of the small businesses in Bedlington have any control over but it is one area which could, with a little thought, be used to stimulate small business activity and get those empty shops on Front Street filled. Swalnalla, shock, I nearly paid my tax on time! In the days of yore when I came to the town it was a village and for many years afterwards still had a village feel to it, now it looks and feels like a sprawling anonymous dormitory town like so many others. That could be addresses with a sensible commercial initiative for its heart.

Fraid so Swanalla I migrated to Bedlington in my 20's.

Swalnalla, I ain't a councillor, in fact I was the bane of their lives! As for your business question I was in business for over 20 years in the town and became deeply involved in the political and business arenas for the last 5 years I was there. I acually knew an American who lived down Stead Lane, his wife was from Bedlington and they came back when retried, and his description of the town, "Gee, this is a one horse town" so you are spot on with that one! Of course WDC like to brag about hitting targets etc it must only come along once in a while so the opportunities for this positive propaganda are limited and as such will be overdone to death! Nobody will "celebrate" their failures but anyone who feels strongly enough about the subject must make their views known. This, for me, always boiled down to the fact that the elected councillors never seemed to do anything about certain concerns their electorate had! Thanks Missvic at least we can see what this posting is all about. cunnyjohn Posted Yesterday, 07:22 PM if there is money to be spent in bedlington spend it on something that the public want not stupid signs !!!!!!!! Cunnyjohn, I do not know how you can say that. The amount of time and trouble, even I know of, that some people have gone to to get the public involved in the descision about how the money was going to be spent is immeasurable. Public meetings were held and anyone could put foward ideas on what was wanted. I realise the outcome reflects the views of the people who actually turned up and they may or may not have had their own agendas but the fact remains everyone in the town had the same opportunity. In that vein and with the anonimity this "forum" provides what would people like to see the town go for in future as I believe there is more cash available even on the current scheme.

[swalnalla, Ok then, how on earth can anyone square the circle? This like other initiatives is Gov inspired but most of the work and “push” for their fruition comes from local people who give up their time to actually do something constructive for the town. Like cunnyjohn it is easy to knock something but much harder to achieve anything solid and as we all know Bedlington is a very poor relation in the unholy trinity so it is up to the people on the ground to get things going. Like most of the posters on this board I had very little faith in the elected (ad nauseum) councillors to achieve anything for the town so the only way Bedlington can “improve” is for the general populous to get off their arses and do something for themselves. This initiative, in my view, fits the bill and shows how things can be achieved through a determined effort. Whilst the package itself might not be the ideal for some it does show the town can get something for itself and is a step in the right direction. Like other opportunities the cash is there and if Bedlington doesn’t access it other places will. The fact that it has to be spent in certain ways and with certain objectives is quite right and proper so instead of knocking it get involved and get more and make sure you agree with what it is spent on. I know there is a million squid supposed to be coming the town’s way from somewhere if you think you know how it should be spent make sure you have your say on how you think it should be spent. As for the comments about ASDA: ASDA, at the time, made tentative enquiries about several locations in the area and Bedlington was one but how determined were they to actually open a store? Had ASDA actually opened in the Market Place it would have shut more shops down than anyone can imagine, as none of the “small” shops in the town could hope to compete with such an aggressive multi national. Rightly or wrongly I can understand the decision to turn down that particular application. What I cannot understand is the commercial realism behind other decisions regarding shopping on Front Street. Many years ago WDC made the decision to make Ashington the retail heart of Wansbeck and leave other areas high and dry and what everyone in Bedlington complains about concerning shopping is the fallout of that base decree!

Due to the comments on this topic and others in the same vein on other topics, having friends staying with me now who are integral to various volunteer bodies in and around Bedlington it seemed too good a chance to miss, getting first hand information about the subject. One thing I would add is that it seems very simple to get first hand information about any of these schemes, get along to a Forum meeting! “There is a package of improvements for Front Street which should make our town centre deserve its conservation area status. These improvements will include: 1. New seating, around 30, designed for ease of use incorporating traditional materials, ie, cast iron. 2. New litter bins, again approx 30, with Terrier logo cast into face. Again these bins have been designed to compliment the “street package.” 3. Planters, existing planters replaced with olde worlde cast iron designs again with Terrier logo. 4. Finger (Direction) posts; again in the traditional style, these posts will be located at various points along Front Street highlighting areas of interest. 5. All existing street furniture ie, bollards, lamp posts and hopefully bus shelters will be painted in the old Bedlingtonshire green which will match all the new furniture going in. 6. Railings will be painted in the same colour. 7. Erection of an “interpretation board” depicting historical events in the town and showing key locations. 8. Improvements to alleyway street lighting. (Between Front Street and car park/doctors/Woolsington Court etc.) These packages of improvements have come around through an amalgamation of grant funding obtained by WDC and overseen by interested voluntary bodies who represent the town’s interests, ie, Bedlington Forum, West Bedlington CAP, street traders etc.. The improvements have been brought to fruition with the help of a charitable company, “The Living Streets.” This group specialises in advising public authorities on how best to utilise their inner city areas. They particularly target pedestrian usage giving advice and information on how to improve a particular street etc. Once WDC and those interested parties had formulated a draft design package incorporating the advice they had received the whole thing went out to the general public for comment and suggestions. The comments received were extremely positive and in virtually every case acted upon. If anyone in Bedlington has a problem with these improvements and upgrades there has been many chances and public opportunities to voice any concerns and other suggestions! As for the “Welcome to Bedlington” sign I presume this will be item 7, the “interpretation board”, something I too have yet to see. The rest of the package is due to be installed, including improvements to the pavement areas under and around the new seating, in the very near future. The total price for the package to date and there is some way to go yet is well over £100.000. As a footnote all the above information has been published in the magazine “In Touch” which is regularly distributed to EVERY household in the Wansbeck area!”

Denzel, I don’t think anyone was advocating communism, only using it as an illustration of a counter philosophy. The problem with it would seem to be the need for a ruling elite to implement it, a strange concept for a doctrine which states everyone is equal? As Orwell said some are more equal than others and that would give credence to your belief in an Alpha male type structure. As for Joe with his new build and Beemer these trapping of wealth are delusory because he has probably given most of his working life and income to the cash houses. House loan, cheapest borrowing, but you still pay around 3 times the original amount back over 25 years, car loan and plastic, don’t even go there! So even in these days of perceived freedom of choice the vast majority of the population are working for their own version of a ruling elite and that is without any mention of a political or social upper class. Greed is a classical human trait, maybe a throw back from when we needed to eat more than our fill because we didn’t know when the next meal would come walking by, but it is used by capitalism to keep you buying more and more stuff which really isn’t needed. As for “Utopian idealistic nonsense.” Let’s take a look. Utopian; every creed and philosophy have an idyll as a goal without it no one would be interested! Idealistic; of course it is that without ideals there wouldn’t be a structure. Nonsense; well that is more to do with the spectator and commentator and is purely a personal refection on the subject matter but let’s remember a whole swathe of the world is under what it considers to be a communism banner. Whether it works or not is a different matter. I presume by your replies you will advocate capitalism as the only true working philosophy, what I would like to ask is how long has it left. Like oil supplies there is a finite amount of time until you get to the last drop and then what. When everyone has the materialism they could ever crave what then? OR when we have decimated the planet to its destruction will that be the end of consumerism?

I agree Swalnalla but there is something else to think about. A society has to have a structure to enable it to grow and operate effectively, anarchy just leads to a reversal of innovation and intellect. Given that we seem to need to believe in some “greater than us” thing then a benign religious doctrine would seem to fit that bill. Most religions are pretty good at showing people how to live in harmony but as mentioned the zealots corrupt that message for their own goals. You do not have to agree with an omnipotent deity to live a “Christian” type lifestyle. This would reduce all religions to a strictly philosophical level, just the same as capitalism, communism etc. The fact that religions are corrupted by people for their own ends just the same as political systems says more about human nature. It seems a strange nefarious relationship between the elected state, religion and the unelected state, ie. Monarchy. The tie ins are close and they perpetuate each other’s power. In simple terms it is all about control.

BB, I don't advocate independent "groups" but I would like to see local government run by people not swayed by party political dogma and in fighting. For Bedlington to have any imput out of the unholy trinity that is WDC this has to happen. As for Marx, the populist view is that Marx = communism, a discredited philosophy in these days of comsumerism is king, but as your post points out he was much more than something which has been changed to suit the politicans who were supposed to serve. Personally I think the smaller the world becomes a new philosophy will emerge to encompass it.

CK, I couldn't disagree more! You only have to open any paper or watch a news programme to see that the farther up the greasy pole a politician goes the more your first paragraph and the adjectives ring true. Most local politicians of any party colour will start with some degree of altruism, even if they just have time to fill in, it is only when they get into the real nuts and bolts of the situation that the realisation comes that they are in a big machine without any personal control. Independent councillors, who seem at the moment to be elected on single issues, have the same problems, they are faced with an overwhelming torrent of votes by councillors who have been ORDERED to vote in certain ways, not necessarily the way they would have if given a degree of self determination. I still do not see what a National Executive has to do with getting the pavement fixed outside Mrs Bloggs house? I would be very interested in knowing just who these "half decent" somebody’s are because they are making decisions which we have no control over, how can we hold them to account and isn't that what a democratic system is all about? Much better to have all local decisions made by locally accountable people who base their actions on merit rather than a party whip!

CK, As long as there are poltical references on local election ballot papers people will vote for the National party of their choice, normally. It is much easier than finding out what the person stands for in the locality. If there were just names on ballot papers it would be up to either the person who wants your vote to get his/her message across or the voter to find out what each person stands for. In fact I would make it manditory for every local councillor to be independent because I just do not see the relevance of national parties in local elections. That should ensure the end of the local poltical whip!

Actually there was supposed to be a basic test for councillors and some councils actually took them, I asked the question but WDC seems impervious to such things!

Threegee, I take your point about the councillor make up of WDC and the fact that the power base is across the water, isn't it time for none political ballot papers for local elections? This should ensure the electorate at least finds out who they going elect! In fact to tackle the much heralded "apethy" question I would include a box marked, "None of the above" as I do not necessarilly belive not voting is truely apethy it may just be a protest. I do believe for some strange quasi political reason the Bedlington councillors are obviously ineffective, and have been for some years, maybe it is time to impose passport controls on Stakeford Bridge and reimpose the old boundaries of Bedlingtonshire declaring a seperate state!